Run 3D (Blu-ray)

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All Rise...

Judge Gordon Sullivan starred in the first free-strolling movie.

The Charge

Fear nothing. Overcome everything.

The Case

If you follow foreign action movies at all, you've heard of Parkour. The Luc
Besson-produced District B13 made a
splash by including a number of scenes where its hero engaged in some creative
traversing of his district using the free-running techniques. It seemed like a
fad that had run its course (pun intended) once it appeared in the opening of Casino Royale, where a would-be
free-runner is stymied by Bond's willingness to break through doors. Just when
Parkour seemed to have lost its cinematic shine, we get Run, an indie
action flick that hopes to infuse some fresh blood into the free-running genre
by going 3D. It doesn't really work, and only fans of cheesy action flicks
should bother with this one.

Daniel (William Mosoley, The Chronicles of Narnia) and his father are
thieves who live by a strict set of rules. Daniel, however, impetuously breaks
one, and the pair have to return to NYC to face their demons head on. Daniel is
put in a new high school while his father tries to untangle the past from
Daniel's mobster brother (Eric Roberts, The Expendables), who thinks
Daniel's father had something to do with the death of his mother.

Two genres that did not need to mix: the teen film and the low-budget
actioner. Sure, there are movies out there with kids and action set pieces, but
they usually skew towards the teen audience, with happy endings and bright
colors. Run, however, opts to take the adult route. We have a main
character who is born after his mother dies from a gunshot, and he and his
father are thieves hoping their mobster in-law/uncle doesn't bring the hammer
down for his sister's death.

The first problem is that it's overly complicated. If this were just about a
thief owning up to his past and dealing with the death of his wife, we'd be in
solid action territory. Similarly, if the film mostly focused on the son using
Parkour to fit into a new school after being on the run with his dad things
would be okay, too. Instead, the former feels too heavy for the latter, and vice
versa.

The second problem is that Parkour isn't enough to carry a film. It was used
really well in the Bond flick because it helped drive character: though the
free-runner looked really cool sliding through tight spaces, Bond was the real
badass when he breaks through the door. Parkour as a practice is a kind of
moving meditation, an interaction between practitioner and environment. Most
films that feature it wisely make it both visually interesting and relatively
rare in the narrative. Run makes the mistake of having both too much
Parkour and not making it look interesting enough. It's especially tough to sit
through since most of the Parkour is embedded in Daniel's narrative, making it
seem more like a bad dance competition than a run-for-your-life proposition in
most exciting Parkour-heavy films.

Run isn't a terrible film by any stretch. It's certainly a mediocre
one, and one that leans too heavily on the gimmick of Parkour. However, those
who've watched their fair share of action films will find something to like
here. The action isn't as exciting as the best films in the genre, but the
free-running angle might be enough to tempt those with a high tolerance for
mediocrity. It's also always fun to see Eric Roberts play a gangster as he ages.
There's a certain charm to watching the film to laugh at it, and I can see a
number of fun and productive drinking games emerging from the film.

Run 3D (Blu-ray) is also decent. Both the 3D version of the film and
the regular version are on one disc. The 1.78:1/1080p AVC-encoded image is
pretty solid. Detail is strong throughout, with nice colors. Black levels aren't
as deep as I'd like, but they are consistent and lacking in noise. The Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 track is similarly pretty good. Dialogue is clean and clear, and the
surrounds get a bit of use during action scenes. The lone extra is a standard
making-of featurette.

Run is a mediocre action film that tries to do a bit too much. To the
standard action set pieces, it tries to add elements of thriller, comedy, and
romance, and the mix is worse than the sum of its parts. Though it might make a
fun curiosity for fans of Parkour and/or Eric Roberts, it's not recommended for
the average viewer.